S10 Frame Swap w/ AD and LS motor

[99 to Life]

wiring is a huge step in a build. congrats. often overlooked by time and money.

[hotrodelrod]

Nice work! Getting closer.

[joedoh]

haha I love that point when it looks like the truck is vomiting wires from every opening. best time in the world, fab and rust repair are DONE

[tlorber]

I installed a Lokar Shifter linkage. This was straightforward and luckily just cleared the O2 sensor.


Then I began preparing the dash for new gauges. Now, I could probably have found some gauges that fit the holes for the original ones-but where is the fun in that? I elected to go with VDO Gauges since they look very similar to the originals. I don't have them yet but I'll post once I receive them. So, I''ll have to increase the size for the 4 smaller holes by about 1/8" and decrease the size for the speedo and tach by about 3/16". To do the latter I slit the portion that was bent in, pounded it flat, and welded in the cuts. (I'm still working on them).




Incidentally, if anyone elects to use VDO gauges with an LS motor, they just recently began making a temp sensor that fits directly into the head, without using an adaptor. I say this because many of the gauge companies appear to be unaware of it. Below are a couple links to Jegs and Summit with the part number.

http://www.jegs.com/i/VDO/918/A2C59517248S/10002/-1

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/vdo-a2c59517248s

[99 to Life]

nice job on the shifter. thanks for posting the links to those probes. I found one racing site that sold them, seem to be the same thing. however are these able to work with a mechanical gauge right? I was initially really wanting one that was a temp switch aka grounds out for electric fan. but I do need one for my temp gauge now too.

[tlorber]

Even though the dial on the gauge is mechanical (i.e. not an electric display) the gauge is still considered electric since it sends and receives via an electric signal. A true mechanical gauge uses a probe with a capillary tube filled with some kind of solvent that physically expands and contracts and moves the dial as the temp changes. I'm not sure if that addresses your question, but my old temp gauge was a true mechanical one. It actually still functions well but I was trying to modernize the dash for practical purposes, and I wanted fewer holes through the firewall.

I'm not quite at my fan controller but I have a feeling I will probably need to tap into a different point in order to actuate the one I plan on using. It converts an on/off fan to a variable speed fan.

[99 to Life]

yeah you answered it, I was referring the true mechanical ones. Perhaps I'll just use VDO gauges for my current build. I used their fuel gauge on my last build, decent product.

as for the efan, I got the adapter summit sells, the ol stock sbc temp switches threads right into it. ICT Billet 551179
I just put my heads on bf I really researched that alot of guys just drill and tap the head, I'll def do that next time. But.......one good thing about doing the adapter, for me anyway, if I want to go back to efi, I can just thread the stock fan/temp switch back into the head.

[tlorber]

A little bit more done on my dash. I received the VDO gauges and, fortunately they WILL fit after the modifications.
This pic shows the gap that had to be closed in for the Speedo and Tach.


This is what the hole looked like with the filler, before grinding and filing.
.

This is what the old vs the new gauges look like. I still need to clean up the metal, and file it flatter. Notice that I will now be able to go faster, since the new speedo goes up to 120 mph.

Then it will be on to making the wiring harness to connect the gauges.

[99 to Life]

normally I like stock appearing gauges, but I must say your's look really good, they atleast look vintage. it is nice to have the digital trip meter too.

[youngrodder]

The new gauges look great...

Marc

[tlorber]

Thanks for the comments. I do like the fact that they look reasonably vintage without the hands looking like a weather vane. I'd have preferred some art deco script like the originals, but you can't have it all.

Right now I'm making a harness to feed the gauge lights, and to power them. Pretty tedious process. I'l probably paint the raw steel some kind of black for contrast but I'm not exactly sure on that just yet.

[tlorber]

Here's my melange of wiring behind the gauges. There is probably a more elegant way to accomplish this, but that would be above my pay grade.

[tlorber]

Taking a break from electrical, I got my front sway bar installed.



I pulled my rear axle and am taking it to a shop to replace the diff and bearings/seals. I plan to go with a 3.42 or so, and probably an LSD.

[99 to Life]

sometimes its nice to bounce around. rebuilding rear end will be one less thing you gotta do down the road. I just redid my daily driver. got the know how to do them now. but man its more work than people think.

[STOCKISH]

Looking good!

[MIKESAD50]

Gauges turned out nice. Sway bar looks good

[Mech_Engineer]

tlorber can you provide me with the distances between the top of your cab mounts to the top of the frame? I have attached a picture with some markings indicating what I am looking for. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[tlorber]

Mech E, for the front I got 8.25" above the frame AT THAT POINT and for the rear, 8 11/16 above the frame at that point. I emphasize this because the frame rail drops off between the front and rear mounts. The absolute height of the rear mounting point on the cab is around 1.75" higher (above the ground) than that of the front.

On a separate note, I got my rear axle rebuilt (3.55 diff), and installed along with the new rear brakes and brake lines.



It looks like I need a new Master Cylinder. Not a huge deal, and something I should have planned to replace anyway.

[joedoh]

looking good!

[tlorber]

I'm back to working on my inner fenders right now. This has involved a lot of sheet metal work-cutting bending and welding. They are getting pretty close.
This is the passenger's side:



These are driver's side in various stages of progress:





There is still a bit more fill required. I may keep a hole in the driver's side to run a cold air intake.

[tlorber]

I'm just about done with the inner fenders. I just need to undercoat them. Here is the driver's side, showing where the Cold Air Intake will be routed.

[99 to Life]

one of my biggest peeves on the dime swap is the inner fenders and rad support. The intake looks great.

[tlorber]

Thanks, 99. After doing this once, I think I could be more efficient if I were to do it again, but it is still a huge amount of work for parts that are rarely visible.

[99 to Life]

yup soooo many pieces that never get seen. so many journeys in a build. There are always things that can be better next time around. That is life esp with a hotrod. Heck just shaking the truck down can take months sometimes.

[Homebuilt Hotrods]

Great build!